ST. PAUL, Minn. – A group of state and federal agencies and the University of Minnesota formalized their commitment to Minnesota’s organic agriculture sector with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in St. Paul on May 28, 2008. MDA Commissioner Gene Hugoson said Minnesota has long been a leader in the organic industry and the signing of the MOU will increase the impact of each agency’s organic programs and foster innovative partnerships in future efforts.

“Organic agriculture is an important and growing part of Minnesota’s farm and food economy,” Commissioner Hugoson said. “The partners signing onto the MOU want to work together in order to help Minnesota farmers, Minnesota-based business enterprises, and Minnesota consumers make the most of the opportunities presented by this rapidly growing sector.”

In the MOU, agency heads agreed to share organic information and resources and encourage and support organic research, demonstrations, and field days to showcase production practices, conservation measures, and economic performance.

According to the MOU, the signatories agree to work collaboratively to provide assistance to organic producers, processors/handlers, and buyers/consumers in the State of Minnesota as follows:
1. To support time and efforts of staff in organic professional development, service delivery, and outreach efforts, both on behalf of the Partner itself and in collaboration with other MOU Partners.
2. To formally notify all employees about the organization’s status as an MOU Partner.
3. To prominently acknowledge the organization’s status as an Organic MOU Partner on its organizational web site.
4. To encourage and support organic research, demonstrations, and field days to showcase production practices, conservation measures, economic performance, and other considerations related to organic production.
5. To support an annual Minnesota Organic Conference by providing funds, speakers, and/or other resources, and to encourage selected staff to attend the conference for professional development.
6. To share information about organic conferences, newsletters, and training opportunities.
7. To appoint and empower one staff person to participate in MOU-related discussions and decision-making on behalf of the Partner and attend an annual meeting of Partner organizations.
8. To contribute a summary of the Partner’s MOU-related activities and other topical content, as appropriate to the Partner’s technical expertise, for inclusion in the Status of Organic Agriculture in Minnesota report to the Minnesota Legislature, which is compiled by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture on a biennial basis.

The Minnesota Organic MOU signatories are: Gene Hugoson, MDA; Mark Holsten, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; Brad Moore, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; Perry Aasness, USDA Farm Service Agency (MN); Bill Hunt, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (MN); Craig Rice, USDA Risk Management Agency (MN); Steve Wenzel, USDA Rural Development (MN); Bev Durgan, University of Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station and University of Minnesota Extension; and Al Levine, University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences.

In 2003, five Minnesota agencies formed the first state-level organic MOU in the nation. The 2008 signing ceremony renews the commitment and doubles the number of signatories. Additional state, federal, and tribal agencies and publicly-funded institutions of higher learning can join the partnership at any time by submitting a joining statement to the Minnesota Commissioner of Agriculture.